Scooby who 41 Posted April 9, 2017 (edited) Was talking to a friend in the trade yesterday and between us we were discussing car clocking, how its rampant and pretty much impossible to detect. He mentioned how he called on a mobile diagnostics guy last week to come reprogram something on a VW Golf. Over the phone the guy asked him if he needed the mileage 'adjusted' also, and that he could do it for a few quid extra on top of the other work. He mentioned he had done over 12 cars in the previous week, all for private individuals on PCP vehicles, before their first, second, third service. Obviously my friend declined as he is in the trade, but was actually quiet annoyed by how flippant he was about it. I tend to buy low mileage cars myself, as I like to sell quality and know it will give neither me nor my customer any issues. However even with a HPI report people are often sceptical of low mileage cars and probably for a reason. I often see fleet vans at auction, perhaps 10 units of Berlingo, all registered in sequence. Mileage is sometimes just a thousand or two different between low and high. Then when you drive them they feel loose on the gears, gear knob and steering are worn beyond what the mileage would suggest. What do you guys think? How rampant is it? How do we make sure we don't end up with this stuff? Is a fair majority of fleet, PCP, actually clocked? In this day and age with all the technology on cars. Why oh why haven't manufacturers come up with a fool proof method of logging a cars true mileage. For example a log being sent to a satellite or even through the nearest mobile phone mast every week or so. Surely manufacturers themselves are suffering when components fail within warranty and they cannot prove what mileage the vehicle has actually covered. I just wish it could be stamped out for once and for all, then everyone would know where they stood. But really manufacturers don't seem to care. Edited April 9, 2017 by Scooby who Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
russp 10 Posted April 9, 2017 Here Here! Its ridiculous that the manufacturers have not overcome this issue. With such large gaps too between servicing, it makes it even easier for them. Surely it cant be that difficult to make a car with a tamperproof mileage? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
metcars 397 Posted April 10, 2017 The problem is not in 'the trade' but with private individuals clocking cars Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
justina3 518 Posted April 10, 2017 I am somewhat skeptical why the manufactures haven’t stamped this out, there must be an advantage to them not doing so. Maybe with the massive growth of PCP deal and the likes, it isn’t in there interest to have cars come back with high miles, whilst they can charge for the additional mileage what do they do with them then? I bet they would rather have a low mileage example come back in which they could retail on through there dealer networks. Call my synclinal. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
metcars 397 Posted April 10, 2017 6 hours ago, justina3 said: I am somewhat skeptical why the manufactures haven’t stamped this out, there must be an advantage to them not doing so. Maybe with the massive growth of PCP deal and the likes, it isn’t in there interest to have cars come back with high miles, whilst they can charge for the additional mileage what do they do with them then? I bet they would rather have a low mileage example come back in which they could retail on through there dealer networks. Call my synclinal. You're not being cynical. Manufacturers could do a 'lot' more if they really wanted to, which does make you wonder? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jon Hickey 2 Posted April 10, 2017 The other one is rental cars - I used to share an office with a franchised car rental company and it was common practise that they would run cars over the agreed mileage limits and then before any event that would lead to mileage being recorded - service, MOT etc..., a man would come in and adjust the mileage back to a suitable level for the contracted mileage. These cars would be happily sent off to the block for the unsuspecting bidders. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
metcars 397 Posted April 10, 2017 11 minutes ago, Jon Hickey said: The other one is rental cars - I used to share an office with a franchised car rental company and it was common practise that they would run cars over the agreed mileage limits and then before any event that would lead to mileage being recorded - service, MOT etc..., a man would come in and adjust the mileage back to a suitable level for the contracted mileage. These cars would be happily sent off to the block for the unsuspecting bidders. One of my ex wives used to run a hire car company. "If the devil were to cast his net there, what a catch he'd bring!". Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Cornish Guy 45 Posted April 11, 2017 14 hours ago, metcars said: One of my ex wives used to run a hire car company. "If the devil were to cast his net there, what a catch he'd bring!". Wife Dealer as well!!!!! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
betginge 73 Posted April 11, 2017 I have used mileage correction in the past for vehicles such as the mk2 scenic and Focus which suffer from dash failure. The guy I use was nicknamed Clocker Norris Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
